Jennifer Belle: “Write What You Want to Write”

By Maryann Yin 

belle author photo.jpgEarlier this week, Jennifer Belle shared the bill with author Susan Shapiro at a NYC Barnes & Noble reading and Q&A session.

Belle told the audience that that night was her wedding anniversary which meant “I am now officially an eight-year bitch.” The audience laughed as Belle went on to say that her husband was late for the event.

Earlier this summer, we wrote about how Belle hired actresses to read her book aloud at various NYC landmarks and in subway stations. The actresses she selected were between the ages of 25 to 75-years-old and worked for an hourly salary of $8. Belle’s publicity strategy garnered the attention of The New York Times, The NY Post, and Judith Regan’s Sirius radio show.

During Q&A, one person asked: “What advice do you have for the writers?” Belle answered: “My advice for writing a book is to start in the middle, not the beginning. The middle allows you to really sink into a character.”


Belle worried that her first novel, Going Down, would destroy her relationship with her father. Instead, it became a new beginning for them. She explained: “You have to be bold and hold nothing back. You never know what someone’s going to think. Write what you want to write.” Belle also revealed that she is not a fan of self-publication and really believes in the merits of traditional publishing.